Elon Musk fired a bright red sports car into space earlier this year - and the vehicle has now passed Mars on its million-year journey through deep space.

His private rocket firm SpaceX revealed the Tesla Roadster is currently beyond the orbit of the red planet, putting it at one of its greatest distances away from the sun.

It is expected to reach its furthest point later this week at around 155 million miles from the star, before its orbit takes it back toward the centre of the solar system.

The Tesla Roadster began its journey during the maiden launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy - the world's most powerful operational rocket.